


pyreflies

by kinderorchestra



Category: UP10TION
Genre: M/M, hotarubi no more e au, into the forest of fireflies au, vaguely described rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:55:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23025127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinderorchestra/pseuds/kinderorchestra
Summary: In the forest where humans should never enter, Jinhyuk was lost. The boy who guided him out told him that he was a spirit. The next day, Jinhyuk saw him in Seungwoo's house.
Relationships: Han Seungwoo/Kim Wooseok, Kim Wooseok/Lee Jinhyuk
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	pyreflies

**Author's Note:**

> 🔞 for graphic murder(?), underage, mention of rape (vaguely described), mcd??? evil seungwoo!! if you dont want him to be described so cruelly pls do not read

There was no light in the deepest part of the forest and Jinhyuk was lost. It was in the middle of August and the moon was full. If it wasn’t for the moonlight that crept in through the gaps of the trees’ rustling leaves, Jinhyuk wouldn’t know where to step. The track was muddy from the summer rain earlier that day. One of his sandals was lost a few moments ago and it was too troublesome to look for it, so he threw the other one away in annoyance.

He sighed and walked. There was really nothing and he didn’t know where the exit was. It was just trees and darkness everywhere. He could die here. There was no sign of another living being so far, but who knew if wild animals were actually lurking around or not. The forest was vast, the nearest village would be the one where his grandparents lived, which he ran away from and was the reason why he was lost in the forest in the middle of the night even though he was always warned not to go to. If he died, his family would probably find his bones a few years later. He laughed bitterly. He wasn’t tired yet, he had to find the village. So he moved forward.

He still couldn’t find anything in his path until a few minutes later. The forest was still the same, dark and muddy, but he saw a few fireflies near the bamboo trees a few metres away from where he was standing. He didn’t know if they were really fireflies or he started seeing things. One thing he was sure of was that he suddenly didn’t feel alone. Just a few moments ago he thought that the forest was dead. He sighed and smiled. He walked closer to the bamboo trees. The fireflies were bright and they illuminated the darkness. The last time he saw fireflies was last year in a city park but they didn’t light up as bright as this.

He gaped unconsciously and fished his mobile phone out of his pocket. He needed to take pictures. Sadly, when the phone finally came into view and he tried to turn it on, it wouldn’t. The battery died. Maybe this was also why he didn’t feel any vibration since half an hour ago. His grandparents called him but because of his pride he didn’t want to answer them, he thought they had given up or something. He sighed and combed his hair back with his hand. He cursed. Now he had the urge to throw the phone away too.

“Fuck!” he cursed.

The forest was quiet except for the sound of the rustling leaves. There was no sound of animals. The only living beings he could see were just those shining bugs. He closed his eyes and tried to think of what to do if he really couldn’t find any way out of this forest.

Just as he started thinking, he could hear the sound of water splashing around. The sound was distant. He furrowed his eyebrows and tried to listen to it more clearly. There was definitely a place with water close by.

He opened his eyes and looked around. He walked again, trying to find the source of the sound. The closer he got, the clearer it sounded. He noticed the increasing number of fireflies around him along the way, they also slowly made their way towards the sound. When he finally saw brightness in front of him, he ran for it. He could feel the soft summer breeze. He could see the moonlight even clearer. The sound of water, the flying fireflies, the soft giggles. Wait… did he just hear… someone?

When he stepped out of the dense trees, he could see a large lake in front of him. He looked up to see the full moon shining and the fireflies flying. They flew and disappeared into the sky like small fireworks. They disappeared one by one. He squinted. They disappeared! Were they even fireflies?

He spotted one of the fireflies beside him and squinted. He scrutinised the small bulb of light. Then he curiously raised a hand to touch it with his index finger. When his finger came in contact with the glowing bug, it popped. Jinhyuk jumped back. So… were they even fireflies? He raised an eyebrow. This somehow turned weird and creepy.

Someone was laughing softly and he moved his gaze from the flying and disappearing fireflies to the source of the voice.

Under the moonlight, standing on the shallow part of the lake, there was someone who was staring at the sky. A boy, probably his age, with shorter stature and fairer complexion, the summer breeze made his dark locks sway softly. His skin was pale, glowing and his eyes were sparkling. Beautiful. The hem of his dark blue hanbok was dipping into the lake. He raised his hands and softly touched the fireflies, guiding them to the sky, as if he was sending them somewhere far away. Jinhyuk stared in awe, he accidentally slipped an ‘oh’.

The boy visibly jolted and turned his head towards him. His eyes widened when he spotted Jinhyuk standing by the edge of the lake. He gasped and stepped back. The sound of water rippling around his feet. He slipped.

Splash!

A loud splashing sound came next. Jinhyuk rushed towards him to help him and the boy saw that.

“Don’t come! Stop!” he shouted with a hand held out in front of him.

Jinhyuk stopped on his track. He looked at the boy who was now sitting, half of his body was in the water. He was wet all over. Water dripped from his hair to chin. Jinhyuk shivered. The water was supposed to be cold at night, right?

“Are you okay?” he asked. He was worried. If only he brought a jacket. It was summer, he was wearing a short sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. Never thought that someone needed his jacket now.

“I’m okay.”

The boy stood up and proceeded to walk to the shore. He breathed hard and plopped onto the ground. He squeezed the bottom part of his hanbok. The boy turned his head to him.

“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” the other asked.

Jinhyuk scratched the back of his head. He remembered how and why he got here. He was lost in the middle of nowhere, but he finally found someone else. But remembering the firefly he popped a while ago made him doubt the possibility of this person being another human. He didn’t know if he should tell him that he was lost or not. After pondering for a moment, he decided that it was okay to just tell the… person. He didn’t know where to go, so maybe he knew a way out and could guide him.

“Uh, I’m lost, kinda,” he said.

The boy raised his eyebrows and then laughed. He laughed. No matter how beautiful his laugh sounded, Jinhyuk became irritated at that point, but he was beautiful. The moonlight was shining upon them, his hair and hanbok were wet, and his skin somehow looked paler. It was cold, the water still rippled, the leaves rustled, the fireflies flew up and disappeared into thin air.

“It’s been a long time since I saw a wanderer,” the boy said. “I thought people in the villages around this forest clearly warned strangers not to enter.”

Jinhyuk furrowed his eyebrows and squinted. “How do you know I’m a stranger?”

He giggled and stood up. “I remember faces and names. I never saw you.”

“I come here every summer from the time I was two until I was ten,” Jinhyuk said.

“Really? But isn’t this your first time lost in this forest?” He laughed.

Jinhyuk groaned. “Yeah.”

“You come here until you were ten, it means that you haven’t come here for a few years. I started remembering the villagers’ faces and names a few years ago. How old are you now?” he asked.

“Seventeen.”

“Oh. We are the same age!” he exclaims. Then he tilted his head and looked up at the sky. A hand was placed under his chin. He was thinking. “You weren’t here for six summers,” he said, looking at Jinhyuk again and raising up six of his fingers.

“You know how to do math.”

The boy laughed again. He walked closer to Jinhyuk and Jinhyuk unconsciously stepped back. When he finally stood in front of Jinhyuk, he leaned closer. He smiled teasingly and batted his eyelashes. “I will show you the way back to the village, but no matter how tempting it is to hold my hand, don’t do it, okay?”

Jinhyuk blinked. He nodded. “Uh, sure.”

The smaller boy looked around the ground, searching for something. Jinhyuk looked at him with a confused face. When the boy seemed to finally find something close to his feet, he bent down to take it. He showed it to Jinhyuk and waved it in front of him. It was a small bamboo. He pointed it at the taller boy.

“Hold the other end and you won’t get lost in the forest again,” he said with a soft smile.

Jinhyuk didn’t say anything. He hesitantly grabbed the other end of the bamboo. He trailed his gaze to the boy’s pale hand. Actually, when he was told he wasn’t allowed to hold the other boy’s hand, he was tempted.

“Don’t let go. Follow me.” He tugged and Jinhyuk followed him.

He saw the boy’s back. His hanbok was still wet. He wondered if the boy was feeling cold. Jinhyuk’s shirt was dry but he felt kind of cold.

“Hey.” The boy called and he looked up to see his profile. The boy was still smiling.

“What?” Jinhyuk responded.

“What’s your name? I’m Wooseok,” he said.

“Jinhyuk,” he answered.

“That’s a cool name,” Wooseok giggled.

Jinhyuk shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t try to continue the conversation. Wooseok was busy humming a song Jinhyuk didn’t even know while walking. Jinhyuk stared at the boy’s hand again. Their hands were so close. Just a little more and they touched, but Jinhyuk held back. Wooseok told him not to. Besides, they were strangers, there was no way Jinhyuk could touch his hand. He looked up again and saw the back of the boy’s head. His hair looked soft and the strands bobbed up and down as he walked.

“Why can’t I hold your hand?” he asked.

Wooseok stopped humming and turned his head to Jinhyuk again. He laughed.

“Do you want to hold my hand?” he asked back.

“No. Curious.”

“Because I am a spirit, that’s also the reason why humans are forbidden to enter the forest, if you touch me, I will die, the forest will die, and humanity will die.”

“For real?” Jinhyuk raised one of his eyebrows.

The other boy laughed again. “Yes. So please don’t, okay?”

“Uh, okay…”

“You don’t seem surprised. I was almost ready to be touched and die. Ahaha.”

“I was almost ready to meet a spirit when I wander around, I guess,” Jinhyuk replied.

“Were you also almost ready being deceived by a stranger when you wander around the forest?”

“That too.”

They left the lake and entered the thick forest again. It was dark and he almost couldn’t see Wooseok in front of him when they walked under the trees’ shadow. He only followed the tug at the other end of the bamboo. Jinhyuk tried to avoid looking around, but the fireflies around them were distracting. They were flying in the opposite direction, towards the lake.

“What are those fireflies?” he asked.

“They are pyreflies,” Wooseok answered.

“Pyreflies?”

“Yes. They are also spirits. If you touch them, they will disappear. That’s what will happen if you touch me. Try to avoid touching them and me, okay? I don’t want to die yet,” he said.

“Uh… actually, I…” Jinhyuk scratched his cheek. “… popped one just now.”

Wooseok stopped walking suddenly. Jinhyuk also stopped. Wooseok turned around with wide eyes and his lips were slightly parted. He looked surprised. They stared at each other without words. The look of surprise on Wooseok’s face changed into sadness. He clutched the bamboo. Jinhyuk could feel the way his hand trembled through the small stick that connected their hands. Wooseok bowed his head and took a step back, he raised his other hand to his face and covered his eyes with the back of the hand.

“Are you… okay?” Jinhyuk asked awkwardly. “I’m sorry…”

The smaller boy raised his head to look at Jinhyuk. They were under the gap of the trees where moonlight came through. Jinhyuk could see his smile, though it was clear that he did it bitterly. Wooseok shook his head.

“Ah, it’s…” Wooseok closed his mouth, hesitating. “It’s okay. Never mind. You didn’t know, anyway.”

“I’m sorry, really.”

Wooseok giggled. It sounded like he almost wanted to cry. “It’s okay, I said.”

He walked and Jinhyuk followed him again. He didn’t try to open a conversation. Wooseok seemed upset. When they finally reached the edge of the forest where he could see the big stone gate separating the village and the forest, they stopped and Jinhyuk let go of the bamboo stick when he noticed the place. Wooseok turned back to look at him. A smile on his face, the hint of sadness he showed a few moments ago had already disappeared.

“You’re welcome,” Wooseok said first with a soft laugh.

“Thanks,” Jinhyuk said.

“Do you know the way from here?” he asked.

Jinhyuk nodded and pointed at the stone gate. “I came through this gate.”

Wooseok muffled his laugh. “Don’t get lost in the forest again.”

“If I’m lost again, will you guide me out?” Jinhyuk asked.

“Are you planning to get lost again?”

“No.”

Wooseok laughed and walked to the forest again. “Then don’t get lost again. I’m not everywhere in this forest, you know.”

“You’re not going to the village?”

Wooseok stopped his feet and stared at Jinhyuk. He shook his head. “It’s my home.” He pointed at the dense forest in front of him.

“Will we meet again?”

“Who knows?” Wooseok shrugged. “Well, then, see you, Jinhyuk.”

Jinhyuk nodded his head. Wooseok walked back into the forest and Jinhyuk stared at his small back, watching him disappear into the darkness. He wondered if he would be able to meet him again. When he couldn’t see the boy anymore, Jinhyuk stepped back, he turned to the stone gate and ran to the village. He prepared himself to be scolded by his grandparents.

He really was scolded by his grandparents, right after he stepped into the house. The whole house was looking for him. Since going to the forest was forbidden, he lied. He said that he was playing near the forest, not in the forest. He couldn’t possibly want to be scolded more than this.

That night, he almost couldn’t sleep. When he finally fell asleep, he dreamt of touching the boy he had just met.

.

The next day, Jinhyuk visited the Han house with his grandparents. It was the reason why he ran away from home yesterday. He didn’t want to meet the bastards. Their grandparents forced him to visit the house every year even though he hated it, they wanted him to get along with the ruler of the village. The father and the kids were bastards, well, except Sejeong. He heard she died two years ago. He hadn’t visited the village for seven years, so he didn’t know. As her childhood friend, of course he was shocked and sad, he even cried the night his parents told him, but it wasn’t like they were together every day. They only met when summer came and parted ways when the summer holiday ended. Truth to be told, he was fond of her, she confessed to him once and he almost accepted, but he really didn’t like her family.

His grandparents were talking to the head of the Han house, so he was left in the garden alone. He was sitting under the shelter in the garden outside the Han house, his feet were on the ground. There was a plate of mochi placed beside him by the maid, but he didn’t touch them, they were probably poisoned by Seungwoo. He had always hated the smug bastard. He thought he could enslave Jinhyuk just because his family owned the land or something. He didn’t really know, but the Han was a family of priests that used their belief to control the villagers, they even had their own shrine, the villagers all loved and believed in them like they were some kind of messiah. Jinhyuk hated it.

Speaking of the devil, someone plopped down beside Jinhyuk and snatched a mochi from the plate. A boy older than him, the eldest son of the Han family, Han Seungwoo. Jinhyuk stared at him indifferently. The older boy smirked and took a bite of the mochi.

“So, that one isn’t poisoned?” Jinhyuk asked.

“You’re a sinner, no matter which mochi you take, you will die,” Seungwoo said.

“Hahaha,” Jinhyuk laughed dryly.

The sliding door behind the shelter was opened. Seungwoo turned his head to look at the person who opened it. He then began to talk again.

“You can put the tea here,” he said, pointing at the empty space behind the mochi plate.

Someone stepped closer and knelt behind them. A pale hand placed a teapot and two cups near the plate of mochi. A hand that looked somehow familiar to Jinhyuk. Jinhyuk looked back to see the owner of the hand. When their eyes met, Jinhyuk froze. The person he was staring at also did the same. Soft dark hair, glittering eyes, hanbok, pale complexion, beauty. It was broad daylight, it wasn’t in the middle of the dark forest at night, but there was no mistake.

The person immediately stood up with a tray in one of his hands and stepped back. He muttered a quiet ‘excuse me’ with the voice that rang in Jinhyuk’s mind the whole night. He walked away from the two older boys, but Seungwoo quickly moved from his seat and grabbed the boy’s hand.

Jinhyuk’s eyes widened.

“Wooseok, why don’t you sit with us and chat?” Seungwoo asked.

Seungwoo said his name. Wooseok. He really was. And Seungwoo touched him. And he didn’t pop and disappear just as he was told by the perpetrator the night before. He was touched like he was a human. He was… a fucking human.

Wooseok fell back and landed on his butt when Seungwoo tugged hard. He was pulled up and made to sit right beside Seungwoo. He let the older boy sneak his hand around his waist and pulled him closer. Wooseok put a hand on Seungwoo’s chest, trying to put some distance between them. Jinhyuk could only stare.

“There’s a special guest here, you have to introduce yourself,” Seungwoo said.

“But, hyung, I’m not allowed…” Wooseok whispered but Jinhyuk could hear it.

“Listen to what your hyung says.” Seungwoo pulled him again. “Introduce yourself.”

Wooseok glanced at Jinhyuk for a second before looking down to look at the wooden floor. Seungwoo put his hand under Wooseok’s chin and forced him to look at Jinhyuk properly.

“Wooseok,” the boy said quietly.

“‘I’m Wooseok’,” Seungwoo corrected his way of speaking, letting go of Wooseok’s jaw.

“I’m Wooseok…” Wooseok repeated. He looked down again.

Jinhyuk stared for a few moments before replying. He also pretended that they didn’t meet yesterday. “Jinhyuk.”

A smirk appeared on Seungwoo’s face. “So, Wooseok, why don’t you hold out your hand and shake hands with Jinhyuk?”

Wooseok stared at Seungwoo with wide eyes and a surprised face, but then he looked down again and shook his head. Seungwoo suddenly grabbed his wrist and the younger boy tried to pull away in panic. Their small tug of war ended when Wooseok shouted, “Please! Don’t!”

When Seungwoo let go of his wrist, he almost lost his balance and fell back. He quickly crawled away and stood up. He took the tray along and ran into the house. Jinhyuk stared at the boy’s back until he disappeared from his sight. Seungwoo clicked his tongue and that stole Jinhyuk’s attention back. Jinhyuk stared at the older boy who was taking one of the tea cups. He seated himself properly again, facing the garden and sipping his tea.

Jinhyuk didn’t know why he felt betrayed. Wooseok called Seungwoo hyung just now. He said that he was a spirit and that Jinhyuk shouldn’t touch him. Jinhyuk almost believed that because of the weird circumstances that happened yesterday. Well, of course, with every nonsense Wooseok said, Jinhyuk should’ve known that everything was a lie. And, what did he say? The forest was his home? Bullshit. He was in the Han house. Wooseok was touched by Seungwoo just now, skin to skin, but he still didn’t want to shake hands with Jinhyuk and Jinhyuk somehow felt mad. It wasn’t like he wanted to shake hands with a Han though.

“Didn’t know you have another little brother beside Seungyoun,” Jinhyuk said.

“He was adopted a few years ago when you didn’t come at all,” Seungwoo explained.

Jinhyuk snorted. But the prank Wooseok pulled last night was a very Han thing to do. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the other cup of tea.

He enjoyed the food and beverages that had been poisoned by Seungwoo—well, in his mind. The summer breeze passed by. The leaves were rustling and the distant sound of cicadas could be heard. Jinhyuk actually enjoyed this village if not for the annoying Han family. For once, he wanted to be glad being in this place. Even though it was the Han house, he would pretend that it wasn’t. It was supposed to be his summer holiday in his grandparents’ village anyway. Jinhyuk ignored everything, he also ignored Seungwoo and the next thing he said. “If you join our shrine, he will let you touch him as much as you want.”

.

It was a hot afternoon. Jinhyuk decided to stroll around the village after he got home from the Han house. He passed by the market near his grandparents’ house. A plastic bag full of sweets in his hand. A villager who was acquainted to his grandparents gave them to him a few minutes ago as a welcome present and he accepted. Jinhyuk didn’t really like sweets, so he hadn’t touched them.

As he reached the end of the traditional market, he walked straight. The village was small, so Jinhyuk already had the map of the village in his head from the adventurous summer days with Sejeong in his childhood, he wouldn’t be lost as long as he didn’t enter the forest.

He noticed the small road he walked on. The road that led to the big stone gate. The forest was right beside him. He glanced at the wooden fences that separated the vast forest and the small village. Right after the fences, there were only trees. Even when the sun was still up, the forest was dark. At least it wasn’t pitch black like when it was in the middle of the night without moon.

When he finally reached the stone gate, he stopped his feet. He looked up to see the tall structure. Even though it was old, the villagers always maintained it. They believed in things such as spirits. It wasn’t like he didn’t believe in it after he saw those popping fireflies yesterday. Or pyreflies, as Wooseok said. He didn’t know if yesterday night was even real or not. Jinhyuk sighed. He thought about Wooseok again. Damn Han kids always pulling pranks on him.

Jinhyuk’s eyes trailed down one of the huge stone pillars. There was someone else who was standing under it. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a few seconds. It was Wooseok. The boy didn’t say anything, so did Jinhyuk. They were standing there frozen for almost a minute. Wooseok stepped back and turned around, ignoring him. He walked through the big gate. Jinhyuk followed him.

Wooseok could hear the sound of Jinhyuk’s footsteps behind him and stopped to turn around. Jinhyuk also stopped his feet.

“What… are you doing?” Wooseok asked.

Jinhyuk didn’t answer, he only shrugged his shoulders.

Wooseok raised his eyebrows in confusion and turned around again to walk farther. Jinhyuk was still following him. Wooseok turned around again and Jinhyuk stopped.

“You’re a Han?” Jinhyuk finally spoke.

Wooseok glanced to the side. “No,” he answered.

“You called Seungwoo ‘hyung’,” Jinhyuk said.

The boy looked at him. “We’re not related.”

“You’re adopted?” Jinhyuk asked.

“Not really.”

Wooseok turned around and started to walk, but the taller boy followed him again. Wooseok inhaled deeply and turned around again.

“Don’t follow me. You’ll be lost.”

“It’s not evening yet, I’m quite confident I can get out of here later,” Jinhyuk said.

“You can’t enter the forest!”

“Why?”

“You touched a pyrefly last night. Humans are not allowed to enter the forest.”

“Why are you entering the forest then?”

The boy only stared at him. He didn’t want to explain. He didn’t want to answer. It wasn’t Jinhyuk’s business. Humans shouldn’t enter the forest and it meant that Jinhyuk shouldn’t. He looked around, thinking on how to make Jinhyuk go away but he really didn’t know how. By now, Jinhyuk probably thought that everything he said yesterday was a lie.

Wooseok looked at Jinhyuk again and his eyes caught the sight of the white plastic bag that Jinhyuk carried. Jinhyuk noticed where his eyes landed and raised an eyebrow. He raised the plastic bag and put his other hand in it. He grabbed one of the sweets and fished it out. He showed it to Wooseok. A bungeoppang. Wooseok stared at the sweet in confusion.

“Do you want it?” Jinhyuk asked.

Wooseok didn’t answer. He just stared at it and then at Jinhyuk.

“It’s warm and sweet, filled with jam.” Well, Jinhyuk hadn’t even eaten one, but he saw the handwritten poster glued to the wall of the traditional cake shop that the bungeoppang was filled with jam, other than the usual red bean paste.

“Jam?” Wooseok asked quietly and innocently.

Jinhyuk nodded. His hand was still in the air, holding the warm cake. Wooseok gulped. He looked at the delicious looking treat. He hesitated.

“Is it from the confectionery in the market?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Jinhyuk nodded again.

And Wooseok’s expression lightened up a bit. He beamed. It took Wooseok a while to step forward and raised his hand to reach for the sweet, still hesitant. Jinhyuk almost smirked. He didn’t know that it was this easy to lure Wooseok. The boy was just like a deer that didn’t know that it would be caught in a trap.

When Wooseok’s hand drew closer and almost touched the sweet, Jinhyuk rushed forward to grab his hand. The boy jumped back to avoid it. The treat dropped to the ground, the plastic bag Jinhyuk carried too. Wooseok looked at the sweets scattered on the ground and then at Jinhyuk. The taller boy almost snorted at the look of fright on Wooseok’s face.

“So, cannot touch a human, huh? I guess you’re right. I can’t touch you, because I’m a human. Meanwhile, Seungwoo can touch you, probably because he is…” Jinhyuk put a hand under his chin and tilted his head. “A demon?”

Wooseok didn’t say anything. He stepped back. Jinhyuk noticed his movement and followed him by moving forward. When Jinhyuk was about to touch him again, he turned around and ran away. Jinhyuk chased him into the forest. Wooseok ran as fast as he could, but Jinhyuk ran faster than him. He wanted to put a distance between them. He knew it was too late when Jinhyuk finally caught up and ran right behind him. He yelped when the other caught the hem of his hanbok.

“No!” Wooseok shouted desperately.

Jinhyuk yanked him back. Wooseok almost fell backwards, but he forced himself to run forward and he managed to get away from the other boy’s grip. He stumbled and fell onto the ground. He turned his head back and looked up to see Jinhyuk walking towards him with a smirk on his face. He looked around in panic. When he saw a palm sized rock near him, he grabbed it and got up. He threw the rock at Jinhyuk’s face as hard as he can.

When Jinhyuk groaned at the sudden pain and nursed his forehead, Wooseok stood up and ran for whatever was left in his life.

.

A sigh. Soft. The hanbok was loosened. Jinhyuk ran his fingers across the pale skin. A whimper. The voice he heard two days ago. And yesterday. And this time. In his arms, Wooseok writhed. He put his hands on Jinhyuk’s shoulders and pushed the older boy away. His soft hair stuck to his sweaty forehead.

“No,” he said as Jinhyuk latched his lips on his collarbone and put his hand on the small of his back.

Wooseok was sweet. He was warm and sweet. In the middle of a scorching summer. A drop of sweat dripped from Jinhyuk’s chin. It was summer but he wanted Wooseok. No matter how bad it burnt, he wanted to touch Wooseok.

He breathed the scent of a flower he didn’t know the name of. Sweet. Poisonous. Mixed with the smell of drenched soil when the clouds that brought the early summer rain closer to the town. He kissed his neck and bit it, leaving a vivid red teeth mark. Jinhyuk looked up to see the glass beads that stared at him in disappointment. Jinhyuk stopped. He stopped everything. But it was too late as Wooseok raised his fist to punch his face.

.

Jinhyuk opened his eyes. His head was dizzy.

“Fuck, it still hurts,” Jinhyuk cursed. He sat up and touched his forehead. He groaned. “What the fuck is his problem?”

A young maid was in his room, placing a cup of tea on the table in the corner of the room. He looked up to see Jinhyuk. He smiled slightly at the sight of his cringing young master. The boy came home yesterday evening with bruised forehead, the bruise was right above his left eyebrow. His grandparents panicked and the maids were running around to patch him up. When he was asked why his forehead was blue, he said that he fell. There wasn’t any deep scar or something, when the morning came, the bruise faded and it almost disappeared by the afternoon, so nobody was really worried about.

“Language, master,” he reminded Jinhyuk.

“Ugh…” Jinhyuk looked away.

“I put the tea here,” he said, pointing at the cup he placed on the table.

“Thanks, Byungchan,” he said.

The maid, Byungchan, moved closer to his mattress. He sat in seiza beside the mattress and looked at his master expectantly.

Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow. “What is it?” he asked.

“What happened yesterday?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“The bruise on your forehead. It wasn’t because you fell, was it?”

Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes. “How did you know?”

“You said, ‘What the fuck is his problem?’ just now,” he recited.

“Language.”

Byungchan bowed. “I’m deeply sorry.”

Jinhyuk chuckled and waved a hand to dismiss it. “It’s okay. I was the one who said that.”

The maid was still sitting there. He looked up to see Jinhyuk’s face, waiting for him to tell him the real story. Jinhyuk looked at him and rolled his eyes. He guessed he had no other choice, Byungchan was pretty persistent after all. If he didn’t tell him the real story, he would be sitting in the same position until he fell asleep. He sighed and turned his sitting position to face the other boy who was equally young.

“A Han kid pulled a prank on me,” he said.

Byungchan waited for him to continue. Jinhyuk squinted.

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone,” he demanded.

“Yes,” Byungchan complied immediately and nodded.

“I entered the forest,” Jinhyuk said in a hushed tone.

Byungchan’s eyes widened. “You can’t—”

He covered his mouth with his hand. Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes. “Listen to what I’m going to say first. And you can’t tell anyone.”

He nodded his head and Jinhyuk let go of his mouth. He beckoned him to lean closer and he did.

“I entered the forest when I ran away two days ago, remember? I was lost and I met a boy my age, he guided me out. He said I couldn’t touch him because he was a spirit, so I didn’t. I met him yesterday when I visited the Han house with grandpa and grandma. I saw Seungwoo touch him, but he still refused to be touched by me. Yesterday, I met him in front of the forest gate. I chased him and he threw a rock at me. That’s why I got this bruise.”

Byungchan was speechless. He looked at him in bewilderment. He clenched both of his fists.

“I don’t think it’s alright to do that,” he said.

“Huh? Why?” he asked. “He’s a Han, I heard him call Seungwoo ‘hyung’. Seungwoo also said himself that the guy was adopted into the family.”

“Nobody knows what actually happens inside the Han house and shrine,” Byungchan explained. “It is true that there was an additional family member in the house a year before Sejeong-noona’s death, but no one in the village really knows who the new family member is. Only the Han family members themselves and the people from the Han shrine. Even though there are a lot of followers, there are only a few members of the shrine.”

Jinhyuk raised one of his eyebrows. “Even grandpa and grandma?” he asked.

Byungchan shook his head. “They are not members of the Han shrine.”

Hearing that, Jinhyuk nodded. “Byungchan, that’s bad.”

“Huh?”

“Your story actually makes me want to know about him even more.”

“Please don’t be reckless,” Byungchan warned. “No one wants to deal with the Han. It’s better if you don’t approach him.”

“It’s no problem. I pushed Seungwoo off the bridge once and humanity was okay with it. All of his siblings even laughed,” Jinhyuk said as he stood up and walked to his closet.

He took out a hoodie from the closet and put it on. He rummaged through the closet and pulled out a small flashlight and a compass. He put the flashlight and the compass inside the pockets of his hoodie. He walked to his bag he placed near the door and kneeled to take his wallet and his phone. He took out some money and threw the wallet back into the bag. He walked to the door and stepped out of the room.

Byungchan watched him. He also stood up and followed him. “What are you going to do with them? Where are you going?”

“To the forest.”

“You can’t do that again!” Byungchan ran after him.

Jinhyuk turned around. “I will be back before midnight. Don’t tell anyone, okay? You’ve promised me. If you tell anyome I… I will… never talk to you anymore.” Jinhyuk scratched the back of his head. He knew that he sounded childish, but he also knew that Byungchan wouldn’t want his young master to never talk to him.

“Then please let me go with you,” Byungchan begged.

“No.” Jinhyuk shook his head. He grinned. “The villagers are not allowed to enter the forest, you’re a villager here, but I’m a stranger from Seoul, so it’s fine.”

“It’s not!”

Jinhyuk glared at him. Byungchan stepped back and bowed his head down. Jinhyuk walked again. When he passed the hallway, his grandmother asked him where he was going, and he said that he wanted to go to the market.

.

The sun was setting and would disappear in a few minutes. The forest was getting dark. Jinhyuk walked with the small flashlight in his hand and the other was carrying a small plastic bag of sweets he bought earlier in the market. He walked and tried to find the lake, but it had been almost half an hour and he still couldn’t find it. He hadn’t seen any firefly—pyrefly—on the path he took.

He wandered for another ten minutes until the forest went completely dark and he started to see some pyreflies. He stood still and watched them move slowly as if they were the calm water of a dead lake. He followed them. When the number of pyreflies increased, he knew that he was close. He walked faster and tried to avoid touching them. Finally, he reached the end of the dense forest trees and saw the lake.

Pyreflies were everywhere. They flew to the sky slowly and started to disappear one by one. Under the spot where pyreflies were disappearing, he saw the person he wanted to meet that night, Wooseok.

Wooseok was standing on the shallow part of the water again, the bottom part of his hanbok was dipping into the water again. He moved around. He softly touched one of the pyreflies that went in a different direction and guided it up. He took another pyrefly that did the same into his hand and guided it too. Ah, Jinhyuk just realised, so he was helping the pyreflies that didn’t know where to go. And it looked like a dance to Jinhyuk.

When he noticed Jinhyuk’s presence, he jumped in shock. The same look of surprise he had when they first met on his face, but he didn’t slip this time. He stepped back slowly before running away. He ran to the shore and into the woods. Jinhyuk immediately chased after him.

“Wooseok!”

Jinhyuk called the other boy. He entered the dark forest again. He looked around, using his flashlight. He was sure that the boy hadn’t ran that far away from him, he must be hiding behind one of the thick trees because Jinhyuk didn’t hear any more footstep. It was eerily quiet.

“Wooseok, it’s okay. Show yourself, I won’t touch you,” he said.

There was no answer.

Jinhyuk raised the small plastic bag he carried.

“I bought you the jam filled bungeoppang,” he said. “Sorry, okay? If you’re afraid that I will touch you, I will…” he trailed off and bent down to put the plastic bag on the ground. “… leave them here and go back to the lake.”

He stepped back slowly. He still looked around to see if there was any sign of Wooseok. He was in the middle of turning around to go back to the lake when he heard rustling sound. He stopped his movement to look around again. He saw Wooseok’s head peeking out from one of the trees, just as he thought. The boy held two big rocks in his hands and Jinhyuk unconsciously rook anothee step back.

“Are they still warm?” Wooseok asked.

Jinhyuk only stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. Wooseok finally stepped out from behind the tree. He put one of the rocks back to the ground as he did. He stared at Jinhyuk.

“If you move an inch closer, I will throw this at you.” He showed the rock that was still in his hands.

“Okay,” Jinhyuk said.

Wooseok moved closer to the plastic bag and opened it. He seemed delighted when he saw the sweets. He threw the rock away to take the bag into both of his hands. He slipped one of his hands into the bag and fished a cake out.

“You need to wash your hand, you know,” Jinhyuk told him.

“It’s alright! A spirit won’t get sick!” Wooseok giggled and took a bite of the treat.

Jinhyuk raised one of his eyebrows. “And I thought a spirit won’t be able to digest human food?”

“That’s just a myth!” Wooseok said. He looked at Jinhyuk and smiled happily. “Thank you!”

Jinhyuk scratched his cheek and averted his eyes. “You’re welcome.” He pointed at the direction of the lake. “I’m going to the lake. Are you going back there?”

Wooseok nodded. “You go first.”

“Alright.”

Jinhyuk walked away. When he arrived at the lake, he looked around again. The pyreflies disappeared one by one in the air, almost half of them were already gone. The minority was still flying aimlessly without Wooseok. Jinhyuk sat on the ground. The sky was clear, the stars were shining brightly. The moon wasn’t full, but the light was enough to illuminate the dark place. The pyreflies too.

Wooseok came a moment later, still eating the sweets. He also sat near Jinhyuk, but he tried to put some distance between them, tree metres away. The plastic bag was placed on his lap. He also looked up to see what Jinhyuk was seeing.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” he asked with a mouthful of cake.

Jinhyuk turned his head to Wooseok. He snorted. “Yeah. Are you here every day?” he asked.

The boy shook his head. “No. Only when it’s full moon. But I do come here every day in summer. They gather here at those times.”

“I see,” Jinhyuk muttered. He stared at Wooseok’s lips. “Hey.”

“Hmm?” Wooseok looked at him.

Jinhyuk pointed at the corner of his own lips. “There’s jam here on your face.”

Wooseok raised a hand to wipe it off.

“Not there,” Jinhyuk said.

He wiped another place.

The older boy clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Do you want me to wipe it for you or something?”

“No!” Wooseok responded immediately. He finished the last piece of the cake before putting the plastic bag away from his lap and crawling towards the lake. He peered down to see his reflection on the calm water and wiped the jam off his face.

Jinhyuk kept staring at him. He actually had the urge to tease and touch the other boy, but he restrained himself. He really wanted to know why the boy refused to be touched by him.

“What are you actually?” he asked suddenly.

Wooseok, who was in the middle of playing with the lake water, turned his head to Jinhyuk. He sat back, folded his legs and hugged them. He averted his gaze from Jinhyuk.

“You don’t want to know,” he said.

“Too bad, I want to,” Jinhyuk replied.

“You will never want to know,” he corrected himself.

“Come on, just tell me.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Wooseok looked at Jinhyuk and narrowed his eyes.

“What if I touch you?”

Wooseok grabbed the nearest rock.

“Stop it! I won’t touch you, okay?” Jinhyuk yelled.

Wooseok put the rock back to the ground.

“You really don’t want to tell me, huh?”

“I don’t want to tell anyone,” Wooseok said. He hugged his legs closer and rested his chin on the knees. He stared at the lake water with his forlorn face. He clutched the sleeves of his hanbok. “They will hate me, they will be disgusted.”

Jinhyuk didn’t say anything in response. He was waiting for Wooseok to continue, but the younger boy didn’t.

“Just answer this question,” Jinhyuk asked. “Are you a human or not?”

Wooseok moved his eyes down to his naked feet. He moved his toes absentmindedly. “I was.”

“You were?” Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t even know,” Wooseok said and shrugged. He started to draw something abstract on the ground with his index finger. “I still have my human traits. But I’m no longer human.”

“Alright. So, the next question is, what are you doing here?”

Wooseok stared at Jinhyuk for a moment before looking up to the sky where the pyreflies disappeared. He pointed up and turned his head back to Jinhyuk. “To guide them.”

“You’re guiding the ones that go to the wrong directions?” Jinhyuk glanced at the sky.

Wooseok shook his head. “All of them.”

Jinhyuk stared at him in confusion and scratched his head. “You’re not doing anything right now, but they’re still flying and disappearing.”

Wooseok let out a giggle. “You missed the ritual. I did it before sunset.”

“Ritual?”

“Yes.” Wooseok nodded. He looked up again. “Pyreflies are the spirits of dead living beings—humans, animals and even plants. They run to the forests, the mountains or the oceans. Some of them don’t know where to go, some of them don’t want to go, they want to stay and live again. Spirits that stay in the human world for too long will cause disasters. They have to be sent. They need guidance by a priest. The spirits will disappear when they are touched by humans who don’t perform a ritual, that can also prevent them from causing disasters, but I want them all to be happy in another world.”

“Wait, you’re a priest?” Jinhyuk turned his sitting position towards Wooseok. “A Han priest?”

The boy shook his head. He averted his eyes. “No. I’m… different from the ones in the Han shrine.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The Han priests use the spirits for their own advantage… and pleasure. They’re… terrible.” Wooseok’s eyes turned glassy. Jinhyuk didn’t miss the way he cringed.

Jinhyuk sighed loudly. “I don’t fucking get it. You were once a human, you are a priest, living in the Han house, but not a Han priest, Seungwoo can touch you and I fucking can’t. I don’t know why all of those are related.”

Wooseok stared at him and blinked. He moved his fist in front of his mouth to muffle a laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” Jinhyuk glared in annoyance.

“Do you want to touch me that bad?” he asked.

“Hell no.” Jinhyuk threw his gaze away.

Wooseok giggled. “Too bad, Jinhyuk. You can’t. I don’t want to disappear yet, you know. And if I disappear, no one will send the spirits in this forest and you won’t be able to hear the rest of the story.”

“Who cares? I’m not going to be here forever, I don’t care about what’s going to happen to this place and the villages.”

The boy pouted. “Cruel.”

Jinhyuk clicked his tongue. He stood up and brushed the dirt on his trousers. “Anyway, I’m going home.”

“Do you need me to accompany you?”

“No. I’m with compass and Google Maps.”

“Google Maps?” Wooseok tilted his head.

“Not going to explain it to you. Bye.” Jinhyuk walked away from the lake. After a few steps, Wooseok called his name.

“Jinhyuk!”

The tall boy turned his head around and raised an eyebrow.

“Come here tomorrow afternoon. I will show you the ritual! Um… you can also wait by the gate.” He remembered the plastic bag beside him. He grabbed it and held it up to show it to Jinhyuk. “Ah, and bring the sweets too! If you buy me snacks from the confectionery in the market, I will tell you everything~!”

“Tch. Whatever,” Jinhyuk said as he walked again, leaving the other boy alone. 

.

“No!” Wooseok cried as he was dragged up the stone staircase that led to the Han shrine. The two adults were seizing him by his arms and they ignored his pleas. He didn’t want this. He didn’t deserve this. But no one cared.

His naked feet were bleeding. But no matter how loud he screamed for help, no matter how many times he tried to run away, he wouldn’t be able to. The two adults were stronger than him. Even if he managed to run away from their strong grip, the other adults were guarding around the shrine and they would catch him again. The world was unfair. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

But what if it was supposed to be like this?

“Please, please…” he still pleaded, but it was left unheard. He tried to yank himself away to no avail. They were getting closer to the shrine where he could see the big fire that illuminated the whole place. Wooseok whimpered in fear. His cheeks were wet from the tears that had been falling down since he didn’t know when.

As they arrived at the top of the staircase, he could hear the loud voices of people who were surrounding the big fire and the cracking sound of burning woods that turned into charcoal. Wooseok couldn’t see anything but the torrid heat emanated from the big fire in front of him. His eyes were blurry. He didn’t want this. He didn’t deserve this. He felt stupid. His knees turned weak. He couldn’t stand up anymore. He went limp. It was his fate.

He gave up. And as he did, they threw him into the fire.

.

It burnt. His every cell exploded. From his skin to his flesh to his bones. They fell apart. Only he could hear his own scream. The crackling sound of charcoal was louder. He was trapped. The flame consumed him. It hurt. He moved around in agony. There was only pain and nothing else. He inhaled the thick smoke. He blanked out. He really hoped that this would be the end. It was probably better that way.

.

The next evening, on the floor of the shrine, with every cell in his body that was still stinging, he was taken by the rapacious adults. He writhed and moaned involuntarily. They stole everything, even the very last thing he was left with. They wouldn’t let him have anything. He wasn’t allowed to own anything. He could hear one of the adults said,

“You belong to the Han shrine.

A belonging is not allowed to own anything.”

—

Jinhyuk vomited. Another young maid in his grandparents’ house rushed to the bathroom to help him ease the nausea. Jinhyuk hit the floor. His body was burning and sweats were dripping from his skin. For the past few days, he had weird dreams, but they were more innocent than what he had just now. It was crazy. It felt real. As if he was there and watched it all unfold. What the fuck was happening to him? What did actually happen to Wooseok?

He breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. He dreamed the same nightmare twice. Yesterday night after coming home from the forest and today when he took a nap. He somehow could feel the burn of the big fire on his skin as if he was there near the big bonfire. What if he was the one they threw into the fire? And what was that scene at the end of the dream? Wooseok was forced by the members of the Han shrine?

After emptying his stomach, he laid down on his mattress, staring at the ceiling. The maid was in his room, placing a glass of water and a few medicines near the futon. He sighed. Something was wrong. Something in the Han house and their shrine. Just as Byungchan said.

Jinhyuk glanced at the window of his room. The sky was turning orange. It was afternoon. He remembered what Wooseok told him yesterday. He told him to come and see the ritual and he would tell him everything if he bought sweets for the other boy. Jinhyuk immediately got up from the mattress and walked to the door. He snatched his hoodie on the way.

“Sejin, I’m going out to the market,” he said to the maid.

“Hah? If you need anything from the market, I can buy it for you,” he said. “You have to rest!”

Jinhyuk ignored him. He kept walking and put his hoodie on. He walked out of the house and to the market. He put his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie and pulled something out, a few notes enough to buy some sweets. When he arrived at the market, he bought the jam filled bungeoppang that Wooseok seemed to like so much. After purchasing, he immediately went to the forest.

The sun was setting and it was getting dark. In a few minutes, the sun would disappear. While the forest paths were still visible, he ran for it.

When he reached the other end, the sun was still in the middle of setting. He saw the lake and stepped out of the woods. He saw rain. The water droplets reflected the orange sunlight, drizzling. They gathered back into the lake where he could see a big whirlpool that was slowly closing. He spotted the smaller boy on the shore. When he heard Jinhyuk coming, he turned his head to his direction and smiled. Jinhyuk breathed heavily and stared at him.

“You’re late, Jinhyuk, I’m done,” Wooseok said.

The sun completely set and the place turned darker and darker in a few seconds. There was no moonlight yet, but as the time passed, pyreflies came out from the darkness one by one. But nothing, nothing could distract Jinhyuk. He was still staring at the silver haired boy.

Wooseok noticed the plastic bag he carried and giggled in delight. “Is that for me?”

Jinhyuk didn’t answer. He was still looking at Wooseok’s face. Wooseok was still smiling. How did he manage to smile?

“Jinhyuk? What’s wrong? You look pale…” Wooseok said as he approached the taller boy, a worried look on his face. He didn’t dare to step closer, he stopped a few metres away from Jinhyuk.

“Tell me everything,” Jinhyuk demanded out of the blue.

Wooseok raised his eyebrows at that and smiled again. “Sure.”

They sat under one of the big trees near the lake. Jinhyuk gave the sweets to Wooseok and the boy happily took the sweets and ate them. Jinhyuk kept staring at him and waited for the other boy to spill. After finishing a bungeoppang, Wooseok started to speak.

“I was actually from one of the neighbouring villages,” he said. “My real family’s shrine was affiliated with the Han shrine.”

Wooseok glanced at Jinhyuk, but there was no response. The boy kept looking at him with indifferent face, Wooseok didn’t know if he was actually expecting him to explain or not. Wooseok pouted.

“Are you listening to me or not?” Wooseok asked.

“Just continue!” Jinhyuk snapped.

The boy sighed and muttered a quiet ‘Fine’. He stood up and took a few steps towards the lake. He looked around to see the pyreflies that were flying to the centre of the lake, the place where he summoned them. He continued.

“The Han shrine members visited my family’s shrine a few times and took an interest in me. So, my parents told me to go with them. They said that it was a prestige to be working under the Han shrine. The truth is… my parents sold me to them.” Wooseok looked down in blatant disappointment. “The Han family didn’t take me in as a priest. It turned out that they used me as a sacrifice. They locked me in a room and, one day, they performed a ritual on me.”

“Burning you alive?”

Wooseok jolted and turned around to look at Jinhyuk. He was gaping. His eyes widened. And Jinhyuk might’ve spotted sparkles of liquid warmth in them. “H-how did you know?”

Jinhyuk thought for a moment before he shrugged. He didn’t want to explain his weird dream somehow. “Guessing,” he lied.

Wooseok averted his eyes. “They threw me… into a pyre. I was cremated, well, alive.”

Jinhyuk inhaled deeply. So what he saw in that nightmare was right. He hesitated, but he asked, “How did you get revived? Why did they do that to you?”

“They summoned me… I guess. I don’t know. When I woke up the next day, I was still in my human form, but I knew that I wasn’t a human anymore,” he answered with a visible shudder. “They want to keep me under their control. Nobody can touch me beside the Han shrine members who performed the ritual.”

“If anyone else touch you, you will disappear?” Jinhyuk asked. He didn’t have the courage to ask what under their control meant. The scene in his dream kept flashing as Wooseok explained.

Wooseok nodded. His eyes were glassy. “Yes. I can’t go out. I can’t communicate with other villagers. I’m not allowed to. Sometimes, I just want to run away and let myself be touched by anyone else and disappear. I think it would be better that way. But I can’t…”

“Why?”

“Because if I disappear…” Tears leaked out and fell on his cheeks. “… the next sacrifice will be my little brother.”

“Your little brother?”

Wooseok nodded. He looked away and wiped his tears with the sleeves of his hanbok. “I don’t want him to experience the same pain…”

Jinhyuk didn’t say anything. If the one who cried in front of him was a human, he would console him with a pat or something. He couldn’t do anything but staring at the younger boy crying his heart out. He could just wait until Wooseok calmed down. When he finally stopped crying, he sat down and leaned on the tree beside where Jinhyuk was sitting. They sat quietly for several minutes under the trees. The sky was completely dark now. The pyreflies were flying and disappearing in the air. It was tranquil and Jinhyuk enjoyed looking at the scene before him.

“Tell me about Jinhyuk,” Wooseok said suddenly in a soft tone.

“Huh?” Jinhyuk turned his head to him.

“I’ve told Jinhyuk about me, now Jinhyuk has to tell me everything about him. Everything,” he said.

“What do you want to know about me?” Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow.

“Like, your favourite food or something…”

“What’s with that mundane trivia?”

“Tell me! Tell me!” Wooseok pouted.

Jinhyuk sighed. “Ramyeon.”

“Ramyeon?” Wooseok tilted his head.

“You asked, right? That’s my favourite food.”

“Oh! The same as my little brother.”

“Speaking of little brother, I also have one that also likes ramyeon,” Jinhyuk said. “Anyway, he’s a real pain in the ass.”

“Really?” Wooseok giggled as if he had forgotten about everything he said earlier. “Is he with you?”

“Nope. He’s with mum and dad in Busan or something.”

“How old is he? Are you from Busan?” Wooseok moved closer to him, but no less than a metre.

“Nine,” Jinhyuk answered. “I’m from Seoul. My parents are in Busan with my lil bro for a business trip.”

Wooseok beamed. “Seoul. How nice… I want to go there one day… I’ve never been anywhere besides the forest and the mountain here.”

“Yeah, you can try going to Seoul if you want,” Jinhyuk said with a teasing smirk.

“But I can’t…” Wooseok slumped his shoulders sadly. “Anyway, what are you doing here in the village? You don’t go to school?”

“Summer holiday,” Jinhyuk answered. “I don’t want to go to Busan nor stay in Seoul, I want to spend my summer here.”

“When will Jinhyuk go back to Seoul?” Wooseok asked. Jinhyuk looked at him.

“I don’t know. In two or three days probably,” he said.

Wooseok gasped. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

For the next two hours, they talked about Jinhyuk’s life. Jinhyuk told him about the days he spent with Sejeong in his childhood when he was in the village. Wooseok said he didn’t really know about Sejeong, but she was the only one in the Han family who would communicate with him normally. Wooseok laughed uncontrollably when Jinhyuk told him about that time when he pushed Seungwoo off a bridge.

After years, Wooseok was finally able to laugh and feel at ease. He wished he would be able to talk to Jinhyuk forever, be with Jinhyuk forever. But Jinhyuk had his own life, Jinhyuk was a human, he would need to come back to Seoul, because this village wasn’t the place Jinhyuk belonged to. Meanwhile, Wooseok would be stuck here forever. He would never be able to go anywhere. But he thought that it was alright. It was alright to be here forever. For the past few days he spent with Jinhyuk, he laughed, and he would forever remember it.

He asked Jinhyuk to come again tomorrow before the ritual. He really wanted to show it to the other boy. He also made Jinhyuk promise to come back to the village next year and bring him a lot of sweets from Seoul.

.

Wooseok whimpered when someone caught him from behind and sneaked an arm around his waist. He looked back to see Seungwoo who was smiling maliciously at him. When he opened his mouth to say something, Seungwoo moved his other hand to cover it. Wooseok tried to break free, but Seungwoo squeezed him even tighter. He winced in pain.

The older boy moved his lips to Wooseok’s nape and kissed it. He moved up slowly with his tongue out, lapping the smooth skin. He stopped behind the younger boy’s ear and placed a kiss on his earlobe. Wooseok shuddered. He let out a whimper again.

“Are you going to the forest?” Seungwoo asked in a whisper.

“Seungwoo-hyung… wha—”

Seungwoo moved him to the side and pressed him against the wall. Seungwoo sneaked a hand under the fold of his hanbok and stroked his soft skin. He gasped.

“Saw that Lee guy coming in and out of the woods yesterday,” Seungwoo said. “He came out with you.”

“Lee?” Wooseok asked with cracked voice.

“Jinhyuk.”

Wooseok gulped. “What about him?”

“You’re not allowed to communicate with a stranger, remember?” Seungwoo told him.

“Didn’t hyung tell me to talk with him and you even tried to make us shake hands?” Wooseok asked.

Seungwoo ignored him. He peppered the younger boy’s neck with kisses.

“Please don’t do this,” Wooseok whispered. “I have to go to the forest.”

“To send the pyreflies?” Seungwoo stopped kissing him. “How sweet of you, sending them to the other world just to keep the village safe from any disaster. It’s for your little brother’s safety, isn’t it? You know, the Han shrine can deal with those pyreflies, you don’t have worry. Stay here, lie down on the floor, and spread your legs for the shrine members. That’s your role, Wooseok-ah. That’s the reason why they brought you here. They only want you for that.”

Seungwoo tugged the sleeve of his hanbok, revealing his shoulder slowly. He latched his lips on the milky skin and bit it roughly. Wooseok muffled a scream. He always did it. When Seungwoo was done, he let go of Wooseok.

“No.” Wooseok choked on the tears in his eyes that were about to leak out. “The pyreflies have to be sent. That’s the proper—”

“Who taught you that?” Seungwoo asked. “Your parents? They sold you. If I were you, I wouldn’t believe in people who sold their own child.”

“It’s my own belief,” Wooseok said.

“You really need supervision. If Father and the shrine members know that you are seeing Jinhyuk, you’ll get punished,” he said. “It’s your luck that I’m the only one who found out. Well, for now.”

The younger boy didn’t reply. He immediately fixed his hanbok and ran out of the house. His eyes were blurry. He didn’t want this. He didn’t deserve this. He just wanted to be happy. Just this time. He wanted to go to the forest. He wanted to meet Jinhyuk. So he ran to the stone gate.

On the way, he bumped into someone.

.

The forest was quiet and dark. Jinhyuk thought he would arrive before the sun set, but he was wrong. He was late. He promised Wooseok he would come to see him do the ritual, but he took a nap and overslept. When he realised that it was already afternoon, he ran to the market to buy some jam filled bungeoppang and then ran to the forest.

By now, he had already memorised the route to the lake. Wooseok must be waiting there for him. When he almost reached the lake, he saw the pyreflies surrounding him. It was evening, of course they already appeared. He noticed how the bright pyreflies moved aimlessly. Even though the lake was close by, they weren’t flying to its direction as usual. Jinhyuk raised an eyebrow.

When he finally arrived at the lake, he looked around. The pyreflies in the area were all flying aimlessly. They didn’t move to the centre of the lake, flew into the sky and disappeared into the air. They were just scattered. He looked around and spotted Wooseok who was standing by the shore, looking at the sky.

“Wooseok!” he called.

The smaller boy turned his head to him. His cheeks were wet with tears. And, strangely, he emitted a faint glow, the same colour as the pyreflies. He looked at the boy up and down, he noticed how the fingers of Wooseok’s right hand glowed as bright as the pyreflies, and two of them were already missing. They fell apart slowly and flew up, just like stardusts. It was as if he was going to disappear into nothing.

“Jinhyuk,” Wooseok said his name softly.

“What happened?” Jinhyuk asked.

Wooseok broke into another tears. “Jinhyuk, I’m so stupid…”

Jinhyuk just stood there in his place, not knowing what to do. All he could do was just staring, just like what he did yesterday. Wooseok tried to wipe his tears away, but they were still coming out. Jinhyuk breathed in and out.

“Wooseok, tell me.”

“I bumped into someone earlier,” Wooseok said. He sobbed and choked on his tears. “What should I do?”

“Calm down, okay?”

“How am I supposed to calm down?” he snapped.

Jinhyuk shut his mouth. He didn’t know what to do and what to say. It was quiet and scary. Wooseok’s hand disappeared bit by bit and there was nothing he could do about it.

“I want to touch Jinhyuk,” he blurted out of sudden. “I want to touch Jinhyuk and I want to go to the market’s confectionery with Jinhyuk. I want to show Jinhyuk the sending ritual. I want to meet my brother. I want to go to Seoul. I want to know Jinhyuk’s little brother. I want to do everything together with you all. I haven’t met my first love. I want to kiss someone I love. I want to get married. But why?”

“At least,” Jinhyuk hesitated. He caught Wooseok’s attention. The glassy orbs were staring at him expectantly. Jinhyuk continued. “You can learn my brother’s name. His name is Jinwoo. And you still have the time to do one of them.”

Wooseok knitted his forehead in confusion. He stared at Jinhyuk. The taller boy dropped the plastic bag he carried to the ground and opened his arms wide.

“No matter what, you will disappear, right?” he said. Wooseok let out a small gasp of realisation. Jinhyuk smiled at him. “So come.”

Wooseok let out a small joyful laugh before running towards Jinhyuk. He jumped and Jinhyuk caught him. Wooseok cried louder than ever, but he was also happier than ever. He touched Jinhyuk. He was in Jinhyuk’s arms. They almost fell to the ground, but Jinhyuk was strong enough to support his weight and keep them from falling. Wooseok’s body was still turning into smaller particles.

“Can I have one last wish?” Wooseok buried his face in the crook of Jinhyuk’s neck and asked softly.

“What is it? You’ve used up everything for this.”

Wooseok giggled. “Can you take my little brother with you?” he asked. “Please? I’m begging you…”

Jinhyuk was quiet for two seconds. “Alright.”

“In the village next to the next one. His name is Kim Yohan,” he said.

“Even though your clue is vague as fuck, I will look for him,” Jinhyuk said. “I promise.”

Wooseok smiled. “Thank you.”

He tilted his head and leaned in to place his lips on Jinhyuk’s. Jinhyuk was surprised at the action, but he didn’t pull away. Wooseok’s lips were soft and surprisingly… warm. Jinhyuk tightened his hold around Wooseok’s waist. When Wooseok pulled away, a bright smile on his face. His body was vaporising rapidly. He was happy but also scared at the same time. Before he completely disappeared, he opened his mouth to say something.

“Jinhyuk, I…”

He didn’t finish it. He was gone. He vanished. Jinhyuk’s arms were in the air. He questioned himself if what happened just now was real.

The hanbok Wooseok wore that day was still in his arms.


End file.
